One of the most important themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is
reality vs fantasy.
At the
beginning, the line that separates reality and fantasy it is somehow delimited,
and so are the characters. On the one hand there are The Athenians —Theseus,
Hippolyta, Philostrate, Egeus, Nedar— and The Lovers —Hermia, Lysander,
Demetrius, Helena. On the other, there is Oberon, Titania, Puck and also
The Fairies. These worlds exist harmoniously separated due to the fact that
humans do not know that they, the fairies, work their magic during nighttime.
However, as you read, you find that these two worlds start mixing with each.
The play
starts with real and rational moments. We see this when Demetrius expresses
rational arguments (economic and social ones) to get Hermia,
I am, my lord, as well derived as he,
As well possess’d; my love is more than his;
My fortunes every way as fairly rank’d.
Though
later we read that after being poisoned by Puck, he loses his rationality.
Perhaps
seeing it from the outside, as readers, the fantasy world present in Midsummer Night's Dream is
not even real. This world is probably part of the characters’ dream, for all
this magic happens at night. We, the spectators or readers, believe that the
two worlds are mush up together, but what if I tell you that the fantasy world
is just part of their dreams and it is not really whatsoever? What if I tell
you that Puck never gave Lysander the love poison and that in his dreams he
discovered his love for Helena?
This
remembers me to The Fairly
Oddparents. Timmy Turner as well as lots of neglected kids has fairly
odd parents who conceive every wish he has. Nonetheless, when kids turn to a
certain age, they forget that they had them and all the magic they once did,
most of the time, disappears. Just like what happens to Lysander who comes back
to Hermia. But, what about Demetrius? He probably once dreamt that he had
been love poisoned so as to love Helena, yet now he believed it himself; this
became reality because what makes reality is when you believe that something is
real.
Actually
Timmy Turner remembers me a lot to Hermia, specially The Fairly Oddparents’ song,
♪Timmy (Hermia) is an average kid,
That no one understands,
Mom and Dad (Egeus) and Vicky (Demetrius) always giving him(her) commands.
Vicky (Demetrius): Bed twirp! (Marry me!)
Doom and Gloom up in his room,
Is broken instantly,
By his magic little fish (Lysander) who grant his (her) every wish (1313),
‘Cuz in reality they are his Odd Parents, Fairly
Odd … ♪
Advice: Don’t believe in the reality you see, for it may
not be what it seems to be.
*I'm sorry about the background color of the letters. It is distracting. I tried to take it out, but I simply coudn´t.*
Illusion Versus Reality
in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Anti Essays.
Retrieved October 9, 2014, from the World Wide Web: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/Illusion-Versus-Reality-In-Shakespeare-s-Midsummer-275980.html
Smith, N. (2011,
December 6). Appearances versus Reality in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and
Twelfth Night. Retrieved from
http://www.articlemyriad.com/appearances-midsummer-nights-dream-twelfth-night/
Oscar,
ResponderEliminarI liked your post very much. Indeed, last week, I thought about reality or fantasy...which is one realistic?...To my mind, it depends on the moment. There are time in which we want to fantasy as much as we can. For example, If we imagine that our future is great and successful, we will not want to accept that the thought is not true. But, in this sense, it is important to know that it is important first fantasy something to make it true. I think that our fantasies are not bad for us, on the contrary, it is good as long as it is positive. That is why, we need fantasy in our life to make it colorful and full of hope.